Investigating the optically stimulated luminescence dose saturation behavior for quartz grains from dune sands in China

The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals from quartz have been widely used to estimate the equivalent dose (D_e) of environment radiation after the deposition of mineral grains. However, the usage of quartz is often limited due to the lower saturation behavior compared with feldspar. Saturation limits among quartz (defining the upper dating range) vary significantly. It is important to better understand the reason for various dose saturation behaviors of the quartz OSL signals. In this study, coarse quartz grains were extracted from the Taklimakan Desert and the Hunshandake sandy land in north China and the dose saturation behavior of quartz OSL signals were studied. Our results suggest that the quartz grains produce very different aliquot-specific dose response curves, showing the significant variability in dose saturation characteristics for OSL signals. Laboratory dosing, optical bleaching and heating experiments were designed to simulate their effects on the dose saturation behavior for the quartz OSL. The results demonstrate that cycles of dosing and optical bleaching have insignificant impact on the OSL dose growth curves, while the heating to high temperature (above 400 °C) can significantly change the dose saturation characteristics for the quartz OSL. Such results suggest that the different heating history of quartz might be an important factor for the variability in dose saturation characteristics for OSL signals. Additionally, the quartz grains from the Hunshandake sandy land exhibit lower dose saturation level for OSL signals, compared with that from the Taklimakan Desert. This can be explained that the quartz grains from Hunshandake sandy land are mainly of igneous origin, while the quartz grains from Taklimakan Desert are mainly of metamorphic origin.     

Variations in quartz OSL components with lithology,weathering and transportation

The signal properties of quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) vary from sample to sample, and even from grain to grain, in terms of, for example, signal intensity or the composition of OSL signal components. However, the cause of the variation in quartz OSL properties is not well understood. Here, we report our experimental observations of continuous wave and linearly modulated OSL signals in quartz grains from fresh bedrocks, saprolites, and sediments in Korea. The OSL signals in quartz grains from both fresh bedrocks and saprolites in the granitic and metamorphic rocks are dominated by slower OSL components, with no fast OSL component. By contrast, the OSL signals in quartz extracts from sandstones are predominantly composed of fast OSL components. Quartz extracts derived from thermally metamorphosed or diagenetically recrystallised sandstones, however, tend to emit weaker OSL signals, a property related to intense slower OSL components. Along the fluvial transportation path, slower OSL components dominate near the host granite, but their absolute/relative intensity decreases with a simultaneous increase in the fast OSL component with transportation distance. OSL signal characteristics suitable for dating appear to be acquired during sedimentary processes after the liberation of quartz grains from granitic and metamorphic bedrock. Therefore, granitic and metamorphic quartz grains should be transported a sufficient distance for the fast OSL component to be sensitised. However, unless they have been affected by post-thermal metamorphism and recrystallisation, the OSL signal properties of quartz grains released from Cretaceous sedimentary rocks seem to be suitable for OSL dating, regardless of the transportation distance.     

Assessing the potential of luminescence dating for fault slip rate studies on the Garlock fault,Mojave Desert,California, USA

Although there has been significant advancement of OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating of quartz and feldspar over the past decade, the luminescence characteristics of quartz grains in many tectonically active areas are not suitable for accurate age determinations using this technique. This study investigates the reasons for this unsuitability and tests a new measurement protocol (ITL), which appears more promising. At two sites along the central Garlock fault in the Mojave Desert, California, USA, samples collected for OSL dating for this study have proven problematic. At the El Paso Peaks (EPP) trench site, a sequence of OSL samples was collected from sandy units with a well-established radiocarbon chronology, providing the opportunity to assess different approaches and optimize our luminescence dating procedures. At Christmas Canyon West (CCW), where future Garlock fault slip rate studies will be conducted using luminescence dating, samples were collected to assess the luminescence characteristics of both quartz and feldspar in this environment. At both sites, signals from quartz and K-feldspar grains are consistently dim. At EPP, quartz results provide age underestimates, while K-feldspar IRSL yields erratic values; the causes of this problematic behavior are unclear. Preliminary minimum isothermal thermoluminescence (ITL) signals of K-feldspar measured during preheating appear to be consistent with the radiocarbon age estimates, demonstrating potential for accurate age determination in this kind of environment using this protocol.     

An analysis of the components of the luminescence signals of selected polymineral and quartz samples from loess in western China and southern Tajikistan,and their suitability for optical dating

Previous luminescence dating studies on loess from China and Tajikistan have focused on the establishment of the regional chronology of the loess sequences. In order to improve the precision and accuracy of optical ages derived from the loess of the last glacial period in these regions, we have examined the components of luminescence signals in three loess samples from western China and southern Tajikistan. Our results show that the polymineral IRSL and post-IR OSL, and quartz OSL signals from loess of the two regions are represented by three components, which display different bleaching and growth characteristics. While the composition of the polymineral IRSL signals is similar between samples with the same age from the two regions, in the case of quartz there is significant discrepancy in the proportion of the fast and medium components of the OSL signals. Greater difference is observed in the composition of the polymineral post-IR OSL signals for the loess from the two regions. The three components of polymineral IRSL signals yield almost identical equivalent dose values as that derived from the total IRSL signal. An apparent agreement in equivalent dose is observed between the fast component of the polymineral post-IR OSL and the quartz OSL for the loess of western China but not in the loess of the same age from southern Tajikistan. The fast component of the quartz OSL yields an equivalent dose 25% higher than that based on the total signal for the sample from the base of the Late Pleistocene loess in southern Tajikistan. This demonstrates the importance of signal selection for an accurate luminescence dating of Central Asian loess.     

Direct measurement of the fast component of quartz optically stimulated luminescence and implications for the accuracy of optical dating

The usual practice in optical dating is to derive an equivalent dose (D_e) (and hence age) from integration of the initial part of the measured optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal. This ‘bulk’ OSL signal is known to comprise several semi-independent components, each of which decays at different rates during measurement, and thus contributes a different proportion to the bulk signal as measurement time progresses. Data are presented here which show a strong dependence of D_e on the bulk signal integration interval, with reduced D_e for later signal integration intervals resulting from lower medium component D_e values. This dependence leads to two problems: (i) deciding which signal integral to choose, and (ii) the possibility that all bulk signals will provide systematic age underestimation due to medium component signal contributions. Isolating the fast component of the bulk OSL signal provides a solution to both problems and several methods of achieving this are assessed; an efficient new method is described which is incorporated in to standard single-aliquot regenerative-dose measurement sequences. This method involves the direct measurement of the fast-component signal using infrared (830 nm) stimulation of quartz at 160 °C, prior to the standard bulk OSL measurement with 470 nm stimulation. It is shown that the measured quartz infrared stimulated luminescence signals resolve pure fast-component signals and provide D_e estimates consistent with those from signal deconvolution. This approach can only be applied to samples with relatively bright luminescence emissions, but in these cases is expected to provide a more robust estimate of palaeodose.     

Chronology of an oyster reef on the coast of Bohai Bay, China: Constraints from optical dating using different luminescence signals from fine quartz and polymineral fine grains of coastal sediments

Fossil oyster reefs are indicators of past sea levels, and their formation is usually dated by means of radiocarbon. However, radiocarbon dating of the shells from coastal areas may be complicated by the varying sources of carbon. Here we applied optical dating methods to date the samples from above and below a fossil oyster bed in a section on the coast of Bohai Bay, China. The optical ages of the sediments were used to constrain the oyster bed. Single-aliquot regenerative-dose procedures using the OSL signal from fine grain quartz, the IRSL and post-IR OSL signals from polymineral fine grains were employed to determine equivalent dose (D_e). The behaviors of the different luminescence signals from quartz and polymineral grains during D_e measurements were examined. The results showed that the quartz OSL signal is more reliable than the polymineral IRSL and post-IR OSL signals with respect to dating for these coastal samples. The optical ages indicated that the oyster reef formed between ca. 6.2 and 5.0 ka.     

Vertical variations of luminescence sensitivity of quartz grains from loess/paleosol of Luochuan section in the central Chinese Loess Plateau since the last interglacial

The provenance of loess in Chinese Loess Plateau, including origin, transport pathways and source areas, has long been one of the most important questions. In this study, the vertical variations of the luminescence sensitivity of quartz grains from the central Chinese Loess Plateau were investigated by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques. Our results indicate that the luminescence sensitivity of quartz grains of paleosols can be much higher than that of loess beds. In addition, the quartz grains from the loess-paleosol sequence exhibit a temporal trend in the strength of luminescence sensitivity, characterized by higher values in soils and lower values in loess beds. The OSL sensitivity of quartz grains of the loess-paleosol sequence also shows very similar trend to the magnetic susceptibility and particle size fluctuations, implying that the luminescence sensitivity might be climatic dependent. The possible factors affecting the variations of luminescence sensitivity were discussed including particle size, natural radioactivity, and the provenance of eolian deposits. We suggest that the temporal variations of luminescence sensitivity can be attributed to the retreat-advance of deserts, the different contributions of glacial origin quartz particles associated with mountain processes, and wind patterns during glacial/interglacial cycles. Therefore, the secular variations of luminescence sensitivity of quartz grains are ultimately influenced by past climatic change through its controlling on sediment provenance changes.     

Using LM‐OSL of quartz to distinguish sediments derived from surface‐soil and channel erosion

This study describes the use of linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM‐OSL) to distinguish surface‐soil derived sediments from those derived from channel bank erosion. LM‐OSL signals from quartz extracted from 15 surface‐soil and five channel bank samples were analysed and compared to signals from samples collected from two downstream river sites. Discriminant analysis showed that the detrapping probabilities of fast, first slow and second slow components of the LM‐OSL signal can be used to differentiate between the samples collected from the channel bank and surface‐soil sources. We show that for each of these source end members these components are all normally distributed. These distributions are then used to estimate the relative contribution of surface‐soil derived and channel bank derived sediment to the river bed sediments. The results indicate that channel bank derived sediments dominate the sediment sources at both sites, with 90.1 ± 3% and 91.9 ± 1.9% contributions. These results are in agreement with a previous study which used measurements of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex fallout radionuclides to estimate the relative contribution from these two sources. This result shows that LM‐OSL may be a useful method, at least in the studied catchment, to estimate the relative contribution of surface soil and channel erosion to river sediments. However, further research in different settings is required to test the difference of OSL signals in distinguishing these sediment sources. And if generally acceptable, this technique may provide an alternative to the use of fallout radionuclides for source tracing. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

OSL-thermochronometry using bedrock quartz: A note of caution

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) thermochronometry is an emerging application, whose capability to record sub-Million-year thermal histories is of increasing interest to a growing number of subdisciplines of Quaternary research. However, several recent studies have encountered difficulties both in extraction of OSL signals from bedrock quartz, and in their thermochronometric interpretation, thus highlighting the need for a methodological benchmark. Here, we investigate the characteristic OSL signals from quartz samples across all major types of bedrock and covering a wide range of chemical purities. High ratios of infrared to blue stimulated luminescence (IRSL/BLSL), an insensitive ‘fast’ OSL component, and anomalously short recombination lifetimes seen in time-resolved luminescence (TR-OSL), are often encountered in quartz from crystalline (magmatic and metamorphic) bedrock, and may hamper successful OSL dating. Furthermore, even when the desirable signal is present, its concentration might be indistinguishable from its environmental steady-state prediction, thus preventing its conversion to a cooling or heating history. We explore the saturation properties and the thermal activation parameters of various OSL signals in quartz to outline the capabilities and limitations for their use in low-temperature thermochronometry.     

The complexity of luminescence dating of tidal sand body revealed by the discrepancy of paired quartz OSL ages

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is becoming a useful technique to yield absolute age of organic-poor sandy deposits. The buried tidal sand body (BTSB) in the coastal zone of northern Jiangsu Province, China, has been suggested to have the same origin as the offshore radial sand ridge in the Yellow Sea. However, chronological constrain of the BSTB is still quite limited. In this study, OSL measurements were conducted using silt-sized multi-grain and coarse-grained single-grain quartz to constrain the depositional history of a 25.6 m core from the BTSB. A low luminescence sensitivity of quartz was observed, and only ∼1.04% of the grains passed the standard rejection criterion for single-grain measurement. Analysis of paired OSL ages from two grain-size fractions using different protocols showed that silt-sized quartz ages were underestimated of 0.14–1.35 ka in comparison to coarse-grained quartz in the depth interval of 5.8–22.4 m. We interpret such an age discrepancy as the effects of lateral infiltration of fine-grained sediment into the sand body due to dynamic feature of channel-ridge system on the shelf. As far as we know, it is the first time that such infiltration is demonstrated through OSL dating. Our OSL data indicated that there is a significant hiatus between the Late Pleistocene stiff clay layer (50–18 ka) and the Holocene sequence. Holocene deposits only occurred in the last 2 ka, with rapid accumulation of ∼17 m-thick sediments at ∼2–1 ka, a slower accumulation between ∼1 and 0.1 ka and rapid land emergence through an accretion of ∼4 m-thick sediment over the past ∼0.1 ka. This study highlights the complexity of OSL dating in highly dynamic sedimentary environments. Therefore, examining different grain size fractions and comparing different measurement protocols are highly deserved in carrying out OSL dating in such environments.     

Quartz OSL and TL dating of pottery,burnt clay,and sediment from Beicun archaeological site,China

This study focuses on characterizing the thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of quartz in burnt clay, pottery, and the sediments unearthed from a Neolithic site, the Beicun site of the Liangzhu culture. It shows that the initial OSL signals (within 0.8 s) of most burnt clay and pottery sherds are not dominated by the fast component. Results of a heating simulation experiment of sediment quartz show that annealing at temperatures exceeding 600–800 °C decreased the proportion of the fast component in the initial signal slightly. In addition, the proportion of the medium component in the later signal (0.8–5 s) increased significantly, resulting in a decrease in the Fast Ratio value. Therefore, high annealing temperature may be an important reason for the slow decay rate of OSL signals of the burnt clay and pottery samples. The D_e(t) plot shows that most of the samples have thermally stable OSL component signals, which have no significant effect on the final OSL ages. The single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol was used to determine the OSL and TL ages for chunk burnt clay and pottery sherds. The high-precision age of the last archaeological heating event, such as sacrifice, burning, or domestic firing, can be obtained by determining the TL and OSL ages of a homogeneous chunk of burnt clay. The OSL results are consistent with the ¹⁴C age of carbon chips extracted from burnt clay. The age of the Beicun site is finally determined to be approximately 5000–5300 BP (BP represents before 2020), belonging to the early period of the Liangzhu culture.     

Quartz luminescence sensitivity from sediment versus bedrock in highly weathered soils of the Piedmont of North Carolina,south-eastern USA

Deeply weathered soils cover most of the Piedmont physiographic province of the south-eastern United States of America (USA). These soils have traditionally been inferred to derive from weathered bedrock, but recent work (e.g. Ferguson et al., 2019) suggests that deposited sediments are more prevalent than recognized. Distinguishing sediment from weathered bedrock is integral to understanding critical-zone processes and overall Quaternary landscape evolution, yet the well-developed, red, clay-dominated Ultisols of this temperate and humid region mask differences between transported from non-transported material. Our goal is to determine if optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods can distinguish quartz sand from allochthonous (e.g. transported sediment) versus autochthonous (e.g. in situ weathered bedrock) material in soil-profile and core samples from the Redlair Observatory in southwestern North Carolina, USA. Here, we turn to OSL sensitivity and linear-modulated OSL (LM-OSL) to observe the intensity or lack thereof of the fast-decay luminescence component (most light-sensitive signal) in quartz grains from soil horizons and crystalline bedrock-derived saprolite. We find that quartz grains sampled from in situ weathered bedrock as well as from saprolotized clasts of rock have weak luminescence properties and are not dominated by a fast-decay luminescence component. In contrast, quartz grains from transported sediment (e.g. mobile regolith; colluvium; alluvium) contain sensitive grains with more dominant fast components. These results suggest that quartz luminescence sensitivity can be a tool to differentiate between in situ weathered bedrock and similar looking mobile regolith and colluvium over-printed by soil development.     

Violet stimulated luminescence as an alternative for dating complex colluvial sediments in the Atacama Desert

Luminescence dating has become a key tool in studies of the Quaternary. The typically stable luminescence response of quartz grains and the absence of a significant internal dose, make quartz minerals the preferred dosimeter for monitoring the burial dose in sediments. Unfortunately, the reliability of conventional OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating, based on blue stimulation, can be compromised when the luminescence decay is not dominated by a rapidly decaying and stable part of the luminescence signal (i.e. the fast component). On the other hand, standard methods in luminescence dating are limited to ages of a few hundred kiloyears. In this study, violet stimulated luminescence (VSL) has been used as a means to overcome both problems, applied to a series of colluvial deposits in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Quartz from this region, characterized by poor blue-OSL response, showed a reproducible and stable VSL signal capable of recovering given doses up to ∼500 Gy and a saturation dose twice as high as conventional OSL. The VSL response from these samples has been studied in detail and the estimated ages have been compared with an already established chronology for the same site, based on IRSL of potassium feldspar single grains. Results agree for the dose range of the profile studied, ∼100–250 Gy, equivalent to ages of 29–79 ka confirming the suitability of VSL for dating sedimentary quartz with unreliable blue-OSL response and to extend the age range of conventional OSL dating.     

Luminescence dating of Holocene sediment cores from a wave-dominated and mountainous river delta in central Vietnam

Sediments of river deltas provide valuable records of past coastal environments. Optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has become an alternative to radiocarbon dating for constraining the sediment chronology in large deltas that allow for sufficient sunlight bleaching of sediments during the fluvial transport. However, its applicability to smaller deltas with mountainous riverine systems has not been confirmed yet. To check this, we examine multiple signals from two Holocene sediment cores in the wave-dominated Thu Bon River delta in central Vietnam. Two cores were collected, respectively, 3.9 km and 1.2 km inland from the present shoreline and both show a >-25-m thick succession of coarsening-upward mud to sand deposits. Coarse grains (180–250 μm in diameter) of quartz and K-feldspar, and fine grains (4–11 μm in diameter) of quartz and polymineral were extracted from the upper and lower parts of the cores for multi-grain measurements of quartz OSL, and of feldspar infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) at 50 °C (IR₅₀) and post-IR IRSL at 175 °C (pIRIR₁₇₅) to determine burial ages. In addition, facies analysis and radiocarbon dating were conducted. The landward core consists of transgressive to early regressive estuarine and prodelta facies, which is overlain by a sandy beach-shoreface facies. The seaward core consists of a relatively simple shallowing-upward succession from muddy prodelta facies to sandy beach-shoreface facies. All luminescence ages except for pIRIR₁₇₅ of fine grains are mostly consistent with the radiocarbon ages. Instead, pIRIR₁₇₅ ages of fine grains are significantly overestimated with variable offsets. OSL and IR₅₀ of fine grains provide reasonable age estimates, as these grains were likely well bleached during the transport even along a short and steep mountainous river. Consistent age estimates of all signals from sand indicate that sand was well-bleached in the beach and shoreface owing to the frequent sediment reworking by waves and currents. These results support the hypothesis that luminescence dating is applicable to Holocene wave-dominated deltas and reiterate that comparing different luminescence signals is an effective way to check reliability of the age estimates in environments where the sunlight bleaching is not ensured.     

Implications of broad dose distributions obtained with the single-aliquot regenerative-dose method on quartz fine-grains from loess

Six samples were collected from a section of Peoria Loess in Eustis, North America, for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz, and all except one (LV90) produced narrow dose distributions. A comparative study was conducted on this sample and on a ‘well-behaved’ sample (LV91), involving other dating methods and examination of the quartz OSL. These investigations revealed differences in the quartz OSL growth with dose, OSL response to thermal treatments and the range of components within the OSL signals. An ultra-fast component was found in LV90 that displayed a higher rate of sensitivity change than the fast component and this had a malign influence on the determination of the equivalent dose. The distinctive luminescence characteristics of LV90 imply either a change in wind dynamics and/or the source area for the silt.     

Variations in the sensitivity of the optically stimulated luminescence from quartz in the Xifeng section: A spatiotemporal comparison across the Chinese Loess Plateau since the last interglaciation

The sensitivity of the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from quartz is thought to be mainly influenced by source rock (crystallization temperature and quartz defect types) and depositional history (irradiation/bleaching cycles). In this study, the OSL sensitivity of quartz of different grain sizes from loess (L1) and paleosol (S1) layers at the Xifeng section of the Chinese Loess Plateau was analyzed. The OSL sensitivity of the samples from the Xifeng section shows a distinct difference between glacial and interglacial cycles, which is consistent with the patterns observed from magnetic susceptibility (MS) and grain sizes. The highest OSL sensitivity is observed in S1, which is twelve times the lowest sensitivity observed in L1. Moreover, the contribution of the fast component of quartz OSL from the paleosol accounts for more than 90% of the total OSL signal. In contrast, the middle and slow components contribute more in loess, and a significant variation among different aliquots was observed.Comparison of the data obtained from loess sections from different regions, including Xifeng, Luochuan, Jingyuan and Shimao, show significant differences in the magnitudes of OSL sensitivity but a similar pattern between glacial and interglacial periods. The results of this study suggest that, except for the wildfire model proposed to interpret the high OSL sensitivity in paleosol (Zhang, 2018), the shift of wind pattern of westerly wind (i.e., transporting “dim” source from North Tibetan Plateau and northwesterly wind (i.e., transporting “bright” source from Alxa Arid Lands and the subsequent mixture from the different sources may partially contribute to the different OSL sensitivities observed for Xifeng and Luochuan. In contrast, the OSL sensitivity of Shimao samples from L1 was affected by the input from the Mu Us Desert, and those of Jingyuan may affected by the contribution from the Yellow River.     

Luminescence properties of single grain quartz to determine the history of a sample from the Sahara Desert

In this work we present luminescence analyses of material taken from a Neolithic hearth in the Sahara Desert in Egypt. The sample was taken from a beach sand layer which contained traces of charcoal. The sample was dated using quartz luminescence, and its luminescence properties were investigated to find whether it had been heated by fire. In doing so we established a procedure to distinguish heated and unheated quartz at single grain level.The OSL age estimate of the sample is 10.6 ± 0.4 ka. Luminescence properties were measured using about 40,000 individual grains. Using an approach similar to that used to measure thermal activation characteristics (TAC), we compared the distribution of OSL sensitivity of single grains following different thermal treatments. It was found that higher temperatures and longer treatment times change the sensitivity distributions systematically from that observed using the natural sample. We conclude that the grains examined in our dating study were not heated by fire prior to burial, and that the hearth is not older than the OSL age.     

Fluvial transport as a natural luminescence sensitiser of quartz

The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) sensitivity of quartz sampled from the bed of the Castlereagh River in inland New South Wales increases linearly with distance downstream, through both a proportional increase in the number of luminescent grains and increases in the sensitivity of individual grains. It is argued that downstream transport provides numerous opportunities for repeated irradiation and bleaching which combine to increase sensitivity of the quartz grains. Individual quartz grains collected from the uppermost sampling site on the Castlereagh River increase in sensitivity in response to repeated cycles of laboratory irradiation, heating and illumination, providing an explanatory analogue. Furthermore, initially non-luminescent grains are shown to be ‘switched on’ by this same laboratory treatment. We conclude that downstream increases in the luminescence sensitivity of quartz observed in the Castlereagh River are due to intrinsic changes within the quartz and not due to any macro changes in the grains, for example polishing, or abrasion and loss of non-luminescent grains. We also infer that the high OSL sensitivity of sedimentary quartz from Australia is due to the predominance of environments which provide numerous opportunities for repeated irradiation, illumination and heating. Observation of the change in luminescence sensitivity of quartz bedload has the potential to provide additional information on the nature of bedload transport processes. Data from the Castlereagh River indicate that the rate of bedload transport is approximately constant along the 325 km sampled reach.     

Luminescence dating of quartz from ironstones of the Xingu River,Eastern Amazonia

This study reports on the first investigation into the potential of quartz luminescence dating to establish formation ages of ferruginous duricrust deposits (ironstones) of the Xingu River in Eastern Amazonia, Brazil. The studied ironstones comprise sand and gravel cemented by goethite (FeO(OH)), occurring as sandstones and conglomerates in the riverbed of the Xingu River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. The Xingu ironstones have a cavernous morphology and give origin to particular habitat for benthic biota in an area that hosts the largest rapids in Amazonia. So far, the Xingu ironstones have uncertain formation ages and their sedimentary origin is still poorly understood. In this way, seven samples of ironstones distributed along the lower Xingu River were collected for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of their detrital quartz sand grains. Additionally, the organic content of some samples was dated by radiocarbon (¹⁴C) for comparison with quartz OSL ages. The luminescence ages of the sand-sized quartz grains extracted from the ironstones were obtained from medium (100–300 grains) and small (10–20 grains) aliquots using the single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. Equivalent doses (D_e) distributions have varied overdispersion (OD) both for medium size aliquots (OD = 19–58 %) and small size aliquots (OD = 29–76 %). No significant trend was observed between D_e and aliquot size. The studied ironstones grow over the riverbed, but stay below or above water throughout the year due to the seasonal water level variation of the Xingu River. However, the effect of water saturation in dose rates is reduced due to relatively low porosity of ironstones. Water saturated dose rates (dry sample dose rates) range from 2.70 ± 0.21 (2.79 ± 0.22) Gy/ka to 12.34 ± 0.97 (13.26 ± 1.12) Gy/ka, which are relatively high when compared to values reported for Brazilian sandy sediments elsewhere (∼1 Gy/ka). Samples with high overdispersion (>40 %) are mainly attributed to mixing of grains trapped in different time periods by goethite cementation. The obtained OSL ages for water saturated (dry) samples range from 3.4 ± 0.3 (3.3 ± 0.4) ka to 59.6 ± 6.0 (58.1 ± 6.4) ka, using D_e determined from medium size aliquots and dose response curves fitted by an exponential plus linear function. Radiocarbon ages of the bulk organic matter extracted from selected ironstone varied from ca. 4 cal ka BP to ca. 23 cal ka BP. Significant differences were observed between OSL and radiocarbon ages, suggesting asynchronous trapping of organic matter and detrital quartz within the ironstone matrix. These late Pleistocene to Holocene ages indicate that ironstones of the Xingu River result from an active surface geochemical system able to precipitate goethite and cement detrital sediments under transport. The obtained ages and differences between OSL and radiocarbon ages point out that the ironstones have multiphase and spatially heterogeneous growth across the Xingu riverbed. Our results also expand the application of luminescence dating to different sedimentary deposits.     

Single grain optically stimulated luminescence dating of glacial sediments from the Baiyu Valley,southeastern Tibet

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is an important area for the study of Quaternary glaciation. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has the potential to contribute to the chronology of glaciation in this region, but it is important to assess the accuracy of OSL dating of these glacial sediments. In this study, single grain quartz OSL signals are examined for five glacial samples collected from the moraines outside the Baiyu Valley, southeastern Tibet. The quartz grains exhibit poor luminescence characteristics, with a small proportion of grains passing the screening criteria. Grains which pass the screening criteria have relatively low signal intensity, leading to D_e values with large uncertainties. MAM and CAM were used to determine D_e values for these samples. The OSL ages are consistent with the sequence of events derived from the geomorphological relationship of the samples, and also with previous published radiocarbon ages. However, it is more difficult to reconcile the OSL ages and the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) ¹⁰Be ages. Analysis of both single grain quartz OSL data and TCN ¹⁰Be data is complex in this area. Further work is required to increase confidence in the OSL ages generated for the glacial sediments from this region.